Dr. Jeffrey Blanchard is the Director of the PROPEL program. Prof. Blanchard’s first start in research was a work study position in a limnology laboratory while a Physics undergraduate student. Shortly afterward he switched majors to Biology and has continued doing research in industry, non-profit and academic settings. He subscribes to a learning through experience philosophy that led to his first two publications as an undergraduate. He is excited to further the PROPEL program to provide more opportunities and remove structural hurdles for students seeking real research and teaching experiences. Prof. Blanchard’s research group uses environmental genomic techniques to discover new forms of microbial life (including what is now known as the lovebug and the largest terrestrial virus genome) and understand interactions between global climate change and soil microbial communities. Webpage